A Little Game
by Nathaneal Jacobs
Summary: Part Two has begun. Chapter Fifteen starts it all. Miss me? I'm back with this...it's all because of a dream I had.
1. Jareth

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: I choose a different scheme of things. This will be more of a love story and the characters Jareth, and mine (not Sarah) will be a closer match in age than they look like in the movie. By the by, the only thing I have against Sarah is the name. It's my sister.

The pale face of an owl pierced the cool, darkness of the night. A slow breeze brought it to perch in an old tree that sat awkwardly outside a window. This window was well known to the owl, for this was no owl. On the contrary, this was a spy. A spy for the famous, yet infamous to some, Jareth: The Goblin King. The stories go and the songs are sung about his cold, independent nature. Well, everyone has his secrets.

The owl was of Jareth's creation, having at one point been his pet. He needed a spy for that different world. It would've been strange to see little crystal orbs flying around all over the place. If you look closely at the owl's eyes, though, the orbs lie within.

Jareth had a crystal of his own as he sat in his chambers. He looked into the glass and saw the same window that his owl saw. He saw the same breeze blow the curtains. Also, he saw the same girl close the shutters. "Jaclyn," he muttered under his breath.

It was her name, and a beautiful one at that. Such a playful way it moved off his tongue. A song-like quality when said by anyone. Even his goblin subjects. "Jaclyn," he repeated, "The love that I hold for you cannot be expressed in words. Especially the ones I mutter to myself in the secretive tranquility of my bedchamber.

She seemed to be yelling out the window. By watching her mouth, Jareth knew that it was a line that was all too familiar to him. Then suddenly she turned to her door that was strait across from the window. She ripped the small costume crown from her head in a rage and ran to the adjacent room.

"Uh-oh," Jareth observed, "baby's crying. Perhaps I'll see you soon." He prepared to call back his spy when a red book on her desk caught his eye. "Perhaps very soon," he added gleefully.

He walked to the sentry at his door and addressed him coolly. "You," he said, having forgotten the goblin's name, "Keep watch on my lady Jaclyn. She may very well say the words. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," said the goblin. He stood there for a moment unsure of what to do.

"Go!" Jareth yelled, "Now!" As the little goblin scurried away, he smiled amused. "Such funny little creatures."

He had followed this girl Jaclyn around for quite some time mainly because he had read the silly book that an author had written about him. Strangely, this girl reminded him of the girl in that story. He could not remember the name she was given in the book, but then again, he couldn't remember hardly anyone's name. Except for Jaclyn, that is. That was a strong gift he gave to her.

He had not yet heard her voice, for he did not share ears with his spy as easily as he did eyes. Even at this disadvantage, he knew it was her when the words rang through his kindom. A sweet and innocent tone, though it was corrupted with something a child would be known as "spoiled" for. Even, so, he made his small journey to meet her.


	2. Jaclyn

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: No, Jareth was not peeping on her while she was changing, if you read on. The owl had just gotten there. My Jareth isn't very much like David Bowie. Just a warning.

Jaclyn usually spends a short time of her Saturdays in the park. She wears her costumes and enacts parts of her favorite book, Labyrinth. Today she did the very end, but in her fun she forgot a very important thing. Her Father and Stepmother expected her home at six o'clock. She was having fun though, and she didn't care about the convenience of her parents. That is until she realized just how late she was.

The clock struck seven. "What?" she shouted, "Seven o'clock. Oh, shit!" She then painfully scratched her neck for cursing. It was a habit she was trying hard to break. After that was done, she ran to her home. It started to rain.

"Oh, damn it," she said, now not caring about her cursing. She called to her dog. "KT! C'mon!" She was cold and wet as she came upon the porch, her long white dress soaked along with her chocolate hair. Her stepmother was waiting there for her.

"Well, look who's home," she said, "Come inside before you catch a cold. No! The dog goes in the garage!"

"No," Jaclyn argued, but didn't want to fight, "go into the garage KT. Go on! Good girl."

"Jaclyn, you're an hour late," her stepmother said opening the door for her, "Your father and I were getting very worried."

"I'm sorry," Jaclyn interrupted, "It wasn't on purpose! I lost track—"

"Let me finish!" her stepmother interrupted in return, "Your father and I don't go out that often and I ask you to watch little John only if you have the time for it."

"Do you ever ask if I have time for it? No!" Jaclyn yelled, "You just assume that I'm perfect and will always do as you say! Well, you're wrong! I guess I can't do anything right!" She took off down the hall.

Then her father came out of a door to see what was going on. He held the baby.

"Darling," the stepmother said, "I don't want to offend you, but you've spoiled that girl. She thinks I'm the wicked stepmother from Cinderella whatever I ask of her."

"She'll get over it," Father said, "She just needs some time getting used to having your rules in this house. I'll go put John in his crib."

Jaclyn changed clothes and once she was changed thought she saw a face in the window. She looked again and it was an owl. She paid it no second thought.

She got her plastic crown and some dark red lipstick and began the quote she knew so well. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back the child which you have sto—"

The baby started crying ver loudly. It was amazing that he could be heard so well, even across the hall. She grew furious at the interruption. She was getting to the part that she could never remember and this time she remembered it. Alas, she had no time to say it. "I'm coming, you little snot," she called.

When she entered the baby's room, John stopped crying for a moment and looked at her. Then reached out for her and cried louder.

"Oh, stop it," she said angrily, picking him up, "Don't be such a baby. You're almost two. Quiet now! Or I'll call the goblins, you selfish boy. Please stop!" She turned to begging the child to stop crying, but he wouldn't. Nothing would sooth him. "Shut up! I know what to say! Okay, so I don't. But I wish I did. Oh, John, stop it! This is ridiculous!" She put him back in his crib and covered him up.

He still cried very loudly. She was at the end of her rope. She went to the door shouting: "I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now!" She turned off the light and slammed the door.

Then everything was quiet. Wait, quiet? What about the crying, and the baby and…the baby!

She ran back to the room and turned the lighted switch. The light was out. "John," she called the boy, she could not see his face in the crib, "Are you alright? Why aren't you crying?" As if a baby could answer these questions.

She came up to the crib and it was empty. She looked at the window and saw the owl again. "What a strange creature," she said thoughtfully, "but where's my brother?"

"Oh, I'm certain you know, Jaclyn," said a voice in her ear. It was none other than the Goblin King. Just like the little statue on her desk. He was there.

Jaclyn jumped and turned completely when she saw him. A sudden dread came over her. "You're the Goblin King aren't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, please, do call me Jareth," he said politely, "Do you enjoy asking questions that you already know the answer to?"

"You took him to the castle," Jaclyn stated, met with and affirmative gesture, "Oh, please. I didn't mean to say those words. Hell, I didn't even know those were the words. Please bring my brother back! Please!"

"I would do nearly anything you ask of me," he muttered almost inaudibly, "but even I have to abide by the rules. Forget about him. It's your fault anyway. Here, as a consolation." He held out his hand and a small crystal ball appeared between his fingers.

"What is that?" Jaclyn asked, perplexed, "A gift?"

"Yes," he said simply, "It is a simple crystal. But if you turn it this way, you will see your dreams." He flipped the ball onto the back of his hand and then back to the palm. "But this is no gift to a simple girl who takes care of a screaming baby." He paused and smiled at the look on her face. "Do you want it?"

She had a look of greed on her face. Yes she did. "I do," she said, "very much."

"Then forget about your brother," he said, "He's soon to be a goblin."

"No," she said, "I appreciate the gesture, but I want my brother back, please." She tried to be polite. After all, he was royalty. Even though he was of a strange sort.

"Well, that's too bad," he said, the orb vanished, "but I'm sorry to say that the only way to get your brother, is to find my castle. Through that labyrinth." He pointed out the window.

The outside was different. There was a massive maze that seemed like a knotted ball of yarn if anything. At the center was a frightening castle.

"Fine," Jaclyn said, "Have it your way. I'll find my way through." She turned to face him again, and they were no longer in the baby's room. They were in a desert.

"Well, let me explain the rules of this little game," Jareth said, "You have thirteen hours to find your way to my castle, or your brother will become a goblin forever. You may turn back and forget this ever happened at any time." He seemed to fade away and his face was replaced by a strange clock. It went to thirteen instead of twelve.

"Like that will happen," she said, "well, better get going." She walked towards the walls of the labyrinth, but kept hearing Jareth's voice in her head. It truly was a sweet voice, though she would've hated to admit it.


	3. Hoggle

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: Oh, by the by, I'm going to change Hoggle. He's not going to be a goblin anymore. He's a…cat…thing…you'll see.

If you walked around the labyrinth twenty times you wouldn't find the door. You have to find the doorkeeper. The gatekeeper isn't only that, he's also a very loyal servant of Jareth's. Well, maybe not completely loyal. He has his ups and downs. Mostly his downs.

Hoggle was his name. Not a very fitting name to this creature. He had most aspects of a cat except for a humanoid body. He walked on two legs, had opposable thumbs and had a very human face, with binocular vision. Now his ears were pointed, furry and closer to the top of his head than a humans. His nails were longer and pointed like claws. His teeth were fangs, sharp and deadly. His skin was orange tinted with stripes like a tiger. He was a very scary person, but he had one fault about him. He was a horrible coward. He'd ditch his mother given the right circumstances, and providing that he still had a mother. One of his greatest fears, was Jareth, when he's angry.

"Hello, Headwart," Jareth addressed him from behind.

"It's Hoggle," he said almost angrily. Then he saw whom he was talking to. "Oh, hello…" His voice was suddenly meek.

"Whatever," Jareth said, "There's a girl coming your way to try to solve my labyrinth. Give her a hard time on getting in. And don't help her. The consequences will be severe."

"Oh, you can count on me, Jareth," Hoggle said, "I won't help her at all."

"Good," Jareth said, "I'd hate to lose a good man like you." Then he just walked off, he knew the shortcut through the labyrinth. Of course he did. He built the damn thing.

Hoggle waited until Jareth was out of sight. Then he stuck out his tongue. "I'd hate to lose a good man," he mocked, "Yeah, right. He can't even remember my name." He returned to his former business of exterminating fairies. He hated the nasty buggers.

"That's fifty-six," he said as he sprayed the pixie with a disgusting gas.

"Excuse me?" said a girl's voice, "What are you doing?"

"My business, if it's all the same to you," he said, "Oh, it's you." He turned back to what he was doing. "Fifty-seven."

"Oh, that's awful," she said and picked up the fallen fairy, "How could you do something like tha—OW!" She dropped it. "It bit me."

"What did you expect?" Hoggle said, "Fairies aren't all nice and sweet like in your books. These things are pests." He sprayed another one. "Fifty-eight."

"That's still not very nice," she muttered, "Um…I have a question."

"Fifty-nine," he said, "What is it, girl?"

"You're horrible," she said, "And I'm not 'girl' I'm Jaclyn."

"I knew that," he said, "I'm not 'horrible' I'm Hoggle. Now what's your question?"

"Do you know where the door into the labyrinth is?"

"Maybe," he replied.

"Well," she said, "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" he asked. He sprayed another fairy. "Sixty."

"The door!" she almost yelled it.

"You know where the door is," he said, "It's in the wall. Where else would a door be?"

"Will you answer a question correctly?"

"I did answer it correctly," he defended, "_you_ just didn't ask the right question."

She sighed and kicked the dirt, trying to think of a question the might be the 'right' one. "How do I get into the labyrinth?"

"Through the door," he said, "Try again, my dear."

She groaned and racked her brain. "Fine, how's this?" she began, "Will you point me to the door through which I may enter this labyrinth?"

"There you go, that's more like it," he said, abandoning his current job, "You get in through there." He pointed behind her to a door that was not there before. The door opened.

Jaclyn went through and looked to both sides. A long walk down both sides, but which way to go? "Which way would you go, Hogwart?" she asked.

"It's Hog_gle_!" he said, "but I wouldn't go either way."

"Well, that's not very helpful," she said, "so could you just go away?"

"Look, I'll give you one warning," he said, "If you get through to the castle. You won't get out again. That's for certain."

"No, that's your opinion."

"It's a hell of a lot better than yours," he said, he walked out and closed the doors.


	4. Jaclyn's Walk

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: No worm, sorry to all of you who liked that small funny character. I don't think I really need him that much. And in the movie, Sarah goes right.

Jaclyn, though spoiled, did not actually take too many things for granted. She did not ever expect much from people, so she was greatly affected when things happened to her. That's why one might say she is spoiled. She is greatly affected when things don't go her way. Of course, when they do, she is very happy.

She had been walking for about a half hour, or what she judged to be that, without out seeing a turn in the wall. It seemed to be just a straight wall. "What is this," she said, "no turns. This is a labyrinth, right?"

A very, freshly familiar voice came to her ears. "Hello there," it said.

She turned to see Jareth standing behind her. But it was almost as if he wasn't there. "Hello yourself," she said.

"Are you frightened?" he asked.

"No, you startled me," she replied coolly, "there's a difference. How did you come in here? Weren't you out side?"

"My dear girl," he said, with a strangely upset tone. It wasn't completely upset, but just slightly so. "Did you not know that this is my labyrinth? I know how to get everywhere in here in the blink of an eye."

"Then, if it indeed yours," she said, "Can you tell me why there are no turns on this path?"

"I can," he began, but made no move to continue.

"Will you?"

"Will I what?" he said, just to make things difficult.

"Ugh! Don't be like that. You're just like that, Hog—what's his name!" She yelled, "Will you tell why there are no turns on this goddamn path called a labyrinth."

"My dear girl," he said again, he seemed to take a liking to that pet phrase, "That is what a labyrinth is. A path--"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Who is king here?" he hissed. Then he suddenly gave in. "Things are not always what they seem. You must look carefully. That's all I shall tell you for now. By the by, time is short."

"Um…thank you?" she said as he faded again. What an awkward meeting. Almost as if that never even happened. As if he hadn't really been there. She looked around and there was no evidence that he had been there at all, so she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.

"Things are not always what they seem?" she repeated. She looked around and saw nothing but wall and path. "What does that mean? I must look carefully?" She thought on it. "If I must look carefully, does that mean to examine?" She ran her hand across the wall and walked a short distance.

Suddenly her hand lost contact with the wall, but the wall was still there. "What?" she asked herself. She walked forward, and wasn't stopped for quite a few steps. There was another passage. "Things aren't always what they seem." She smiled and went down the left tunnel.

She found herself on a path very close to the castle. She could see it quite well. It made her smile. She walked more briskly now, and wrote with lipstick on the ground when she turned. She was making progress, she thought. A very good thing that was being that she needed to find her brother. She guessed it to have been a short amount of time that passed, but in fact, she had been walking for almost four hours since her most recent conversation with Jareth.

Again his voice stuck in her head. She realized the amount of time that had passed when she passed another clock. It again went to thirteen instead of twelve. Beyond the clock she saw that she had run into a dead end. She sighed and turned around. What she saw infuriated her.

Her last mark was moved and changed in direction. "What is going on?" she said, "My mark's changed. This is an awful place! It's not fair!"

"No, it's not fair," came a voice from behind again. She was getting right weary of this. So much so, that she didn't care to think if she recognized the voice or not.

She turned around and saw no one. Just two plain doors. Nothing odd, except maybe an absence of knockers. "Who's there?"

"Who else?" said Jareth in her ear. He was smiling when she had spun around again "startled." He laughed. "Hello again."

"Why do you do that?" she said, "And what's with these doors? It was a dead end a minute ago."

"No, it wasn't," he said, "It was this. It just moved."

"That's not fair," she said, examining the doors. "Which one do I choose?"

"This wouldn't be much of a game if I just told you, would it?" She turned as he said this to see that he was not one, but two. She blinked and touched them both to prove they were real.


	5. Jareth's Game

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: No worm, sorry to all of you who liked that small funny character. I don't think I really need him that much. And in the movie, Sarah goes right.

"You want to play a game!" Jaclyn said, "because this isn't a game now. This is my brother I'm fighting for. You could make it so much easier if you could just give him back." He made no attempt to reply and so she went on. "What game do you play with these doors? What are your rules?"

Jareth smiled a seemingly whole-hearted smile. He didn't mean it at all. "Well," one of the two of him said, "There are two doors here."

The other piped in. "One will lead you straight to my castle."

"The other to certain death—or something like that." The two went each to a different door. "We know which one leads where."

"You can ask one of us but be warned—"

"One tells only lies and the other only truths."

"Ready?"

Jaclyn was reminded of a project in school they had done once a long time ago. She had never gotten it right, but she hoped she did now. First, though, a question was raised. "Will you really kill me?" she asked, them both as one.  
He wasn't smiling anymore. "I…" he said shakily, "…I wou—I will wait for your question to the game." He did not intend to have her killed. The whole certain death thing was just a load of crap, and he knew it. This was merely a test. If she failed, he would try and make her give up. She didn't say anything. "If you still want an answer before the game starts," he gave in, "then no. _I_ won't kill you. Happy?"

"Yes, actually," she said, smiling. She went to work thinking of a question. Then it came to her like a smack in the face, for her face went up quick as lightning. "I've got it!" she announced. She went up to one of the Jareths and held her face very close to his and looked in his eyes hardly. "Would the other you tell me that your door is the door to the castle?"

Jareth had to think about this question. "Um…yes," he said, coming to a conclusion, "he would." Then he realized that she had figured it out. She was right. "How…?" He didn't stop to question her. He and his clone disappeared.

He retreated to his castle throne room and watched her from his crystal. A few of his subjects watched with him. The good thing about his spies in the Underground was that he could hear what was going on. He saw her look around and call his name. He smiled to himself.

She gathered herself and decided to just move on. She chose the that she had figured was right. Jareth wouldn't have that. She can't beat him at his own game. He put a trap there out of his anger.

"I think I might actually be getting smarter," she said, then she screamed and fell through a hole on the ground.

The picture faded and then reappeared with a picture of her grasped by the hands in the Well of Hands.

"We're helping hands," they said.

"You're not helping right now," she said, "and of you better move that hand. You should not touch that on a lady."

Jareth heard the goblins snicker. "Shut up," he commanded, receiving an instant silence.

"Which way do you want to go, Lady?" asked the hands, "Up or down?"

"I guess," she said, looking down, "I'll go the way I'm headed. Down, then."

"Down?" Jareth nearly yelled, and watched as she fell into an Oubliette. "Damn it. She should not have gotten this far. Oh, well. Hoggle will lead her back to the beginning." He laughed heartily. Then he stopped and turned to the goblins around him. "Well?"

They all started to laugh at once. Jareth smiled and threw the crystal out the window behind him. Then he laughed again with the goblins.


	6. Hoggle's Bargain

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: As you can see I've been replacing some of Jaclyn's helpers with Jareth. Just to make him seem more…"generous"

She sat in the dark, not knowing where she was. She looked around in vain, for her eyes failed her. Her mind was riddled with thoughts that she could not shake. Most kept returning to this man, this Goblin King. A king indeed, more like a boy. He makes everything into a game as if Jaclyn's brother was just a prize in the end. In the strangest way, though, she felt, if anything, a small attraction to him. She'd let no one think otherwise. He was just a spoiled King, and no older than herself to add to it.

She kept seeing him, in a haunting, yet soothing manner. Being that the dark blinded her, her mind projected images onto this black screen. All of which were of our mysterious Goblin King, Jareth. He would help her, then slow her down. He was so confusing. She began to feel the full pressure of her situation and it scared her. She tried singing, for that is something she always loved to do.

She sang a song from her favorite musical, The Phantom of the Opera. "Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation," she sang in a small sweet voice, "Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses."

She heard a noise that silenced her. "Who's there?" she asked at length.

A match was struck and a candle lit and the short figure of Hoggle was seen bent over the candle. "Who do you think?" he asked, "Now, I assume you want out of here, being that you're near tears."

"I wasn't going to cry," she insisted. She hadn't cried in front of some one in a long time.

"Okay, so you weren't," said Hoggle, not wanting to start an argument, "Do you want to get out of here? 'Cause I know a short cut. You can get out of the whole labyrinth from here if you know the way."

"No!" she said, "I don't want to start over. And I'm not giving up either!"

"Suit yourself," he said, "You can just stay down here. Soon Jareth will forget all about you."

"Is that what this place is for?" she asked, not really wanting an answer.

"Yes," he replied, "It's an Oubliette. It's a place to put people that you want to forget about. Technically you put yourself here, but how can you forget about yourself?"

"That doesn't make sense," she agreed, "Um…do you like jewelry?" She noticed that he had a small bag in his belt that had a few necklaces hanging out of it.

He grabbed it defensively. "Why?"

"Because if you help me get to the castle," she said, taking off her bracelet, "I'll give you this."

He examined it, his eyes greedy. "Um…no," he said, "but if you give me that I'll…" he lowered his voice to a whisper "…I'll take you as far as I dare. Then you can do the rest, okay?"

"Alright, deal," she said. She gave him the bracelet and watched him put it on.

"Well, first of all, to get in or out of any place you need a door right?" he began, "Well, you probably noticed that there ain't no doors in here. Just the hole you came in through. Well look here…" He picked up a plank of wood and laid it vertical against the wall. Then he took out a key and "unlocked" it.

"That's a door?" she asked, "You just picked that up off the floor."

He opened it and a stream of pale light came through. "Things are not always as they seem. I'm sure you heard that already."

"Yes, I did," she said. She followed him through the door and into a tunnel.


	7. Jareth's Comands

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note:

As Jaclyn and Hoggle walked together down a path, Jaclyn realized how much shorter than her Hoggle really was. For a cat, he was small. She was looking down at him when she saw something shiny on the ground. It was a crystal like the one Jareth always has. It rolled past them.

"Oh no," Hoggle muttered.

They came upon a beggar that picked up the crystal and put it in his cup. "What's this we have here?" he asked.

Hoggle saw through this beggar, not like Jaclyn. He backed against a wall. "Nothing," he said.

"Nothing?" the beggar repeated then his voice changed, "Nothing? Nothing, tra-la-la?" He suddenly grew and the beggar seemed to fall limp as cloth. Jareth was there instead. He held the costume in his hand.

"Oh, your majesty," Hoggle said, stuttering a little, "Fancy seeing you in a place like this."

"Hello, Headwart," Jareth, greeted him.

"Hoggle," he corrected.

"Whatever," Jareth said, "Don't tell me that you are helping this girl? Because if you are I'll give you this warning: I'll personally throw you, head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench. Am I understood?"

Hoggle gave a small cry of fear. "Please," he begged, "Not that! I wasn't helping her. I don't help anyone, you know that."

"Of course," Jareth said, "Then, if you wouldn't mind, run up the hallway. Leave me."

Hoggle nodded and did as he was told. Such a ferocious-looking cat, scared to death by one man…or whatever Jareth was. He turned to Jaclyn.

"You must really have a way of persuasion with creatures," he said, "I can never get anyone to do what I want without threatening them."

"Why don't you try not threatening them?" Jaclyn asked. "It's an awful way to get your way."

"Oh, and yours is so much better," he said, sarcastically, "just wine and throw a tantrum. That always works for you, doesn't it?"

Her face heated. How did he know that she does that? "How long have you been watching me?" she asked.

Jareth allowed a smirk. "You've seen that little owl outside your window, haven't you?" he asked, "Well, how long has it been there? As long as it's been there, I've watched you."

"That's creepy," she said. Then she remembered a few questions that had been nagging her for quite some time. "What is with those crystals?" she asked, "And why don't you look like a goblin if you're the goblin king?"

He raised an eyebrow at the description of "creepy." "These crystals are my scrying glasses, so to speak," he explained, "and would you rather I did look like a goblin? I wouldn't. Anyway, I'm not a goblin. I'm just their king. It's quite complicated really."

"Okay," she said, "then here's one more question. Why do you keep helping me?"

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then realized he didn't know the answer to that question. He thought on it for a few moments. "I help you because that is my choice," he said at last, "Is that something wrong?"

"No," she said hurriedly, "I appreciate it. But why do you help, but you don't let others help?"

"You said one more question," he said, "That's two. I'm sorry, but your time is up." He let a small silence fall between them. Then he spoke up again. "What do you think of my labyrinth? Easy?"

She didn't answer at once, but she decided to lie just because he wouldn't answer one of her questions. "It's a piece of cake," she said.

"Oh really?" he said, his expression very passive, "How about I make this harder then?" He pointed behind him and the thirteen clock was there again. The clock's minute had started the spin quickly taking a few hours off her already depleted time.

"That's not fair!" she exclaimed.

"What is with you and that phrase," he stated, "Life isn't fair, and you should get over it." He moved to walk past her.

"Hey, wait just a minute," she said, grabbing his arm, "You said I had thirteen hours to find your castle. Now you broke your own rule."

"I did say that," he said, "You _had _thirteen hours. Not anymore. So why don't you stop complaining and hurry and find your brother?"

"But you cheated," she said.

He pulled his arm away from her and a crystal appeared in his hand. He threw it down the hall in the direction Hoggle had gone. "No go, quickly," he said before disappearing.

It was after a few beats that she heard Hoggle yelling and running her way. He was followed by a larger, spinning machine with many blades that turned different directions.

"What the hell is that?" she exclaimed and ran away.


	8. Hoggle's Abandonment

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: I tried to make this one a bit funnier than the other ones have been. Just because it seemed right to do so.

"That's the cleaners," Hoggle said, following close behind her. For such a small thing, he was quite fast. "You sure got his attention if that's what you wanted."  
"What do you mean?" she asked. She had a secret that she really did want his attention, but she didn't understand how wanting it would give it to her. Their conversation was cut short when they ran into a dead end. "Damn!"

"We're dead!" Hoggle shouted, "I'm never helping you again."

"Don't say that," she advised, "he's heard everything else, he might hear you now." She pushed on the wall in front of her, but it was solid rock. She slammed her shoulder into the wall beside her and it gave a little. She smiled and pushed again. "C'mon help me," she urged. The machine was getting dangerously close.

The wall fell in to reveal a cavern. They both fell painfully forward. The machine went by and slammed into the wall. Two goblins that worked it took off after the Cleaners was totally destroyed. They found everything quiet for a while as they both got to their feet and dusted themselves off.

"Look, a ladder," Hoggle said, "This way, and we'll be out of this dump. Finally."

"How can I trust you that you're not leading me back to the beginning?" she asked, "Now that I know you weren't going to help me in the first place."

"I was lying to him," Hoggle replied, "You gotta understand something about me." They both began to climb the ladder. "I'm a coward. And I'm particularly scared of Jareth."

"Who wouldn't be?" Jaclyn asked. They reached the top and came outside through a large vase.

"Okay," Hoggle said, "This is where I leave. I'm done. Bye."

"What?" Jaclyn yelled, "You little cheat. This is not as far as you would take me."

"I'd rather not be thrown into the Bog of Eternal Stench, thank you very much."

"Is that all it is?" Jaclyn said, "It just smells all the time? That's kind of lame."

"I would agree with you," Hoggle said, "but I've smelt it. An believe me it's bad enough already. And if you so much as touch it, it never comes off. You'll smell like that forever. So I'll be seeing you."

"Wait!" she called, but was too late. He was gone and she was in none such mood to deal with that sort of thing right now. She ran after him. "Hoggle you come back here right now!" she yelled after him.

"Not a chance," his voice was faint. He was gone.

"Hoggle," she yelled, "you are the biggest coward I've ever seen!" She looked around and figured out that she had taken some turns that she didn't want to while following Hoggle. She also got this horrible feeling of being alone. Sadly it was more than before, being that now she had been…how shall I put it?…ditched.

Came to a complete stop and gathered her surroundings. She didn't one bit like this feeling of being alone. She took a random path just to get moving. Her thoughts kept returning to her state of being alone. She tried not to think about it, but the only other thing she could think about was Jareth. The more she thought about him, the more she wished he would sneak up on her again. Whisper some stupid greeting in her ear causting her to jump three feet in the air. To tell the truth, she kind of liked it when he did that…wait a minute. What was she thinking? This goblin king kidnapped her brother! No way was she falling for him.

"Just stop thinking about him," she muttered to herself, "He'll go away." Alas, her mind was stilled filled with thoughts about him. His funky-looking hair. His mismatched eyes, one blue one hazel. She heard his voice again in her head. Then she jumped three feet when she heard it in her ear.

"Hello," he said. He raised an eyebrow when she jumped and turned around quickly. "Um…Jaclyn, if you're going to have a heart attack each time I do that, maybe you should stop wishing you weren't alone."

She breathed in deep to calm herself down. "Or you could just stop doing that," she suggested, "It's kind of creepy."

"Why is everything 'creepy' to you?" he asked, "Do you just a very limited vocabulary?"


	9. Jaclyn's Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: I hope no one thinks that I'd ever abandoned this fanfic. Oh, and please go to my homepage for updates and such…..if you want to, that is.

"I do not have a limited vocabulary," Jaclyn said, "I just like to keep my dialogue as monosyllabic as possible, for the less intelligent beings that find themselves at the mercy of your labyrinth."

Jareth raise an eyebrow at her newly found dictionary. "Okay, you proved yourself," he said, "now please explain to me why you constantly express you anger at me whenever I see you. You do know that I only come when you want me to, right?"

Jaclyn opened her mouth as if to say something, then she shut it without a sound. She had no idea that she was the reason he kept coming. "You….I want…?….no I didn't," she settled to say when nothing else would come out right.

"Well it's true," he said, "now if you will excuse me, I have business to take care of. Unless of course you just can't live without me." The sarcasm in his tone was almost insulting.

Before she could yell at him, a loud roar came out of nowhere, or at least, seemingly from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "What was that," she said when it passed. Her voice portrayed, not fear, as one would expect, but pure curiosity.

"Follow me," Jareth said, "though you may not like what you see." He took a small path and followed each roar. And as he lead, the roars grew louder and louder, until at last, the path opened out into a terminal where many other paths joined into it as well. In the center was what looked like a large ball of fur suspended to a branch of a huge tree. Upon closer inspection Jaclyn and Jareth found that the fur-ball was very much alive, and surrounded by little goblins with sticks.

"Piñata," one of the little goblins said as he hit the huge creature with his stick. Jaclyn despised this site and turned to ask Jareth why they were doing that, but he wasn't there any more. She just picked up a rock and threw at a goblin out her anger.

Hoggle sat in the cool, dark shade of a tall, pillar-like rock. He felt absolutely horrible about leaving Jaclyn all alone, but he had disobeyed an order. One of Jareth's orders, to boot. _Lead her back to the beginning,_ was his order and he went on and helped her towards the castle. He could hear her voice in his head, calling for his help. Wait a minute…that's not in his head.

"Hoggle!" Jaclyn's faint voice came to her ears. "Ludo! Where is anyone?"

'Who's Ludo?' he wondered. He covered his head with his arms and tried to ignore her as she called out yet again. "Just ignore it, Hoggle," he muttered to himself, "it'll go away…Aw, I'm coming, Jaclyn!" He began to stand and looked up, but stopped dead.

Jareth was suddenly sitting right in front of him, perched on top of a rock in a form resembling that of an artist's statue. He had the cockiest, most childish smirk on his face that Hoggle had thought possible for this man. Any smirk—or anything that made Jareth happy—was hardly any good news for Hoggle. He lowered himself back to his former spot on the ground and waited for the king to speak.

"Well," Jareth said at last, he sounded almost cheerful, "Hello, Hedgewart."

"Hoggle," the little one corrected him, trying not to sound too disturbed by the repeated mistakes of his name.

"Of course," Jareth said, not sounding one bit like he actually acknowledged him, "Where are you running off to, this time? Going to play the hero to our young Mistress? or are you actually going to do as your told?"

Hoggle tried his best to think of a plausible excuse that would save his skin. "I always do as I'm told," he lied, mocking offense to the comment, "I…I lost her, you see? But…uh…now I thinks I hear her…so I'll go lead her back to the beginning now…just like you told me to. If you'll excuse me." He started to get up, hoping he could get away with that crappy reply.

"Hold on," Jareth said, pushing the little dwarf down—he moved fast, getting up and all the way over to Hoggle in mere seconds. "Do I really look that stupid to you?" He still had an eerie smile on his face. "You tried to help her get to my castle. Then you abandoned her in the middle of it and now you feel guilty about. Do not lie to me, Higgle, for I will not hesitate to throw you into the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"Oh, please!" he begged, "Have mercy!…I lead her back. I'll go right now!" He didn't bother with a correction. He got up and attempted to run away, as if to escape his impending fate.

Jareth caught from behind by the collar of his shirt. He pulled him backwards and waved a crystal in front of his face. "I have a better idea," this he said with so much pride that you could tell easily that he was getting a bit too cocky about it. The shine of the crystal faded until it's surface was fuzzy and soft, like a peach. "Give this to her."

"What is it?" Hoggle asked, suspiciously taking the delicate fruit in his rough hands, "It won't hurt her will it?" He didn't think about masking his obvious worry for the girl. He had already been found out.

"Is that concern?" Jareth questioned as if her hadn't heard him correctly, "For Jaclyn? What, are you two…friends?" His cheerful attitude darkened a little, and he brought up a tone of slight anger. "Just give it to her, or I'll tip you into the Bog of Stench before you can blink!"

"No need to be drastic," Hoggled reassured him. He scurried away, and thought it tedious when Jareth called him back this last time.

"Oh, and Hoggle," Jareth had calmed back to semi-cheerful, "if she ever kisses you, I'll turn you into a prince." He could not help but laugh when Hoggle's face lit up. "…Prince of the Land of Stench!"

Hoggle turned and quickly went away to hide his scowling face. "Who wants a kiss anyway?" he said, truthfully, he thought that the very concept of a kiss was quite superfluous. "I bet he wants one. Especially from his crush." He was trying to be as quiet as he could, so as to prevent Jareth from him his mocking.

Jareth heard him almost perfectly, but didn't bother with punishing the little cat. He was quite aware that the majority of his kingdom knew he was in love with Jaclyn. Just, his subjects didn't all understand that even the king himself had to abide by certain rules. He had already done a lot to help her, and nearly everything she'd asked of him. Then a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"Damn it!" he yelled, quickly collecting his thoughts, "I left the baby!" He disappeared with urgency, sure that his goblin guards wouldn't be able to handle a human child. He left everything in silence, and stillness…except, that is, for a thin sparkling mist that slowly settled on the ground.


	10. The Masquerade

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: Don't leave me because I lie a lot…This chapter will be the Masque. So thank me, all you who wanted it in here. You get to meet Ludo later…

As the world falls down 

Jaclyn opened her eyes and slowly her vision cleared to reveal that she was in a fancy ballroom. She couldn't remember anything of how she might've gotten there. She could only remember her name and basically who she was. She couldn't recall ever knowing anyone, or ever really existing before this moment. One thing was for sure, though, she felt really out of place in this beautiful ballroom with the beautiful music and a beautiful voice that sang. It seemed that he sang for her.

She looked down at herself and saw—to her surprise—she was dressed in a red dress with a gold trim. The corset didn't bother her as much as it should've. She reached up and found that her hair was done in a series of braids that were wrapped around each other and held up in a net of metallic thread. It seemed more amazing when she stood and saw for the first time that the room was covered in mirrors. She saw the full impact of the beautiful gown that adorned her figure. Red matching lipstick and light eye shadow was all she need wear on her face and she felt positively gorgeous. Then again, she also felt very lonely.

There's such a sad love 

_Deep in your eyes_

_A kind of pale jewel_

_Open and closed_

Within your eyes… 

She changed her gazed from her reflection to the crowd of dancing couples that scattered the dance-floor. Everyone had a mask, she did not. She was off to the side, with no partner, and no one giving her even a passing glance. Or so she thought, until her eyes stumbled upon those of another. They were staring straight at her from behind an elegant mask. These eyes were beautiful, and even more so when the mask was lowered and she was able to see the face. It was a man's face and to Jaclyn, it was a shame to hide it behind a mask. His hair….oh, his hair…it was a little interesting. Okay, so "little" is the understatement of the year. His blond hair stuck up straight in some parts. Other parts were longer and others even hung down to his shoulders. The lengths in between were held up with about a year's worth of hairspray.

Alas, it was not his hair she was staring at as he approached her. She once again stared into his eyes. One was light blue and the other was hazel. He took her hand and kissed it, consequently breaking the spell on her.

"May I dance with you?" he asked politely. His voice was strangely similar to the one that was singing. It seemed the singing had stopped.

They were locked in a waltz as soon as she nodded he approval. And what a wonderful moment that passed. One that Jaclyn wanted to last forever.

"Excuse, sir," she said quietly, as not to disturb the music they danced to, "but what is your name?"

He smiled for some reason, as if he knew something she didn't and wasn't going to tell. "My name is Jareth," he said. He already knew hers but he asked anyway, just to be polite—and not scare her.

"Jaclyn," she said, her voice still quiet. It was almost a whisper compared the Jareth's. Then she noticed that, as they danced, everyone had their eyes on her. Not her and Jareth, as a couple. Just her. It was beginning to scare her. She was getting dizzy from the dancing. He looked up at Jareth, who was smiling. She pulled away, suddenly blinded of everything but the eyes that all looked at her. He stopped smiling.

She found herself trying to run, trying to escape all of the stares and glares and the masks. Everywhere there was another mask. They all transformed into little goblin soldiers who were aiming their little spears and cannons at her. Arms flew out to her, reaching for her, grabbing at her. She was nearly crying, for she could not escape. She wished they were all gone. She yelled as if in pain and fell to her knees—everyone was gone.

She looked up and saw an empty room. All she could hear was her own breath. The music had long since stopped. "Am I alone now," she asked herself quietly, the silence made it a booming sound in her ears.

"Do you want to be alone?" asked Jareth from behind her, "If you wish it, I'll leave."

She jumped when she heard him and turned quickly. "No," she said quickly, running up to him, "Don't leave me alone. I don't like being alone. Please." For some reason, unknown to herself, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She thought that if she let go he would be gone. She didn't want that.

"Would you like to dance again?" he asked turning and slowly and gently pulling her to arms length from him.

"How, there's no music," she stated, but she was quite mistaken. He began to sing a simple tune. Simple, but from him, beautiful. He had been the one singing.

There's such a fooled heart 

_Beating so fast_

_In search of new dreams_

_A love that will last_

_Within your heart_

_I'll place the moon_

Within your heart 

He took her hand as he started the chorus and pulled her up to him once again. _As the pain sweeps through…_ They continued their waltz, this time alone with no prying eyes or glares._ …Makes no sense for you…_ She knew all the steps, though she couldn't remember where she learned them. _…Every thrill is gone…_ She didn't remember ever dancing before. Least ways, not with such a beautiful man._ …Wasn't too much fun at all… _ She found herself once again lost in his eyes, and his singing only deepened the spell this time. _…But I'll be there for you…_ They became weightless. _…As the world falls down._ The room seemed to disintegrate around them, leaving only them in existence.

I'll paint you mornings of gold 

_I'll spin you valentine evenings_

_Though we're strangers 'till now_

_We're choosing our path_

Between the stars… 

He spun her.

…I'll lay my love Between the stars 

Silence and stillness. Neither of them moved for a few beats. She was still lost in his eyes and he didn't finish the song. He looked down at her, for he was taller. She had her arms around his neck and he had his around her waist. Still neither moved, not wanting to disrupt a perfectly peaceful moment. Suddenly—too suddenly—he pulled away and turned to leave.

"No!" she called after him, following him as he departed, "Jareth! Wait, don't go! You didn't finish the song, did you? Please!" She reached out to grab his hand and as soon as she touched him the room around her seemed to pop and she fell. He was gone as if he had never been there, along with everything else.


	11. The Junkyard

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: Jaclyn still doesn't remember anything. Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Hoggle will have a little scene.

Her eyes fluttered opened without knowing what to expect of her surroundings. She sat up and rubbed her head. As soon as she saw it, she gasped. All around her, as far as the eye could see, was a large junkyard. Like everything that had ever been lost in the world was there. Everything a child ever misplaced and never found again and spent a week of tears over was here. She looked to her hand and saw a peach. She could taste the sweet juice and realized that there was a bite out of it. A worm wiggled its way from the pit. She cried out in surprise and disgust and threw the peach a full ten feet away from her.

She wearily tried to find something to grab onto to help her stand. She put all of her weight on her arm and pushed herself up. Then came the cry and the movement under her arm. She almost fell forward, but steadied herself as a pile of junk moved.

"Hey," came a small, high-pitched voice from behind it, "Watch where you're going!" A small goblin woman was revealed from beneath the pile. Strangely, she seemed to a part of the pile. It was all layered on her back in the strangest manner.

"I was watching where I was going," Jaclyn said. Then again, as she thought about it, she didn't truly know where she was headed, or why she was going there.

"Really?" the woman said, "And where were you going, hm?"

"I'm not really sure," Jaclyn said, "I was looking for something…or someone." She tried to remember, but as she tried she found that all she could think about was that ballroom, the music, the dance…that man. Jareth, was his name? She had the strangest feeling that she knew him from somewhere else, but she shrugged it off.

"What were you looking for, hm?" the goblin-woman asked, "Was it this?" She forced something soft into Jaclyn's hands.

Jaclyn looked down at it and recognized it as one of her teddy bears. "Lancelot," she said, "but I don't remember losing him."

"Here, why don't you come inside, dear?" the woman said, "this place is far too dirty. There's plenty of things you want in here." She opened a door that seemed to be made from scrap wood on one side, but the other side was painted and smooth and white. She looked in and saw, much to her surprise, her room.

She ran in enthusiastically and jumped on the bed. "My room!" she exclaimed, "My bed. How long have I been away?" She lay on her stomach on the bed with her face buried in the soft pillows. For a few moments she began to think. She didn't know what she was thinking. She thought of that man, Jareth, again and how they danced. She thought of friends who she knew she remembered but couldn't put a face to a name.

"Didymus," she whispered, "Ludo…Hoggle." She almost felt like laughing at the fact that she remembered the name. She didn't really understand why. She sat up and held Lancelot against her chest. "Who are they? Why was that Junkyard there? Am I dreaming?" She stood and opened the door.

"No stay in here, dear," the goblin-woman from before said, forcing herself in and shutting the door. "There's nothing you want out there."

"I was looking for something, though," she whispered as she was ushered over to a chair in front of her vanity mirror. "What was it? What was it?"

"What was that, my dear?" the woman said, "You have everything you've ever wanted right here. You have your dolls, your toys you costumes…" She went on naming things that had pleased Jaclyn in her prolonged childhood. As she said them she handed them to Jaclyn and piled them everywhere around the girl. "Here, this is a treasure," the woman said, handing Jaclyn her bright red lipstick, "Go ahead, dear, make yourself up."

'I'm not dreaming,' she thought, 'This is really here.' She held the lipstick before her, but had to gaze over the pile of junk in her arms. 'Where's my father? Where's Karen? Where's…Toby?' She suddenly had a memory. At first she wasn't sure what it was, but she saw herself walking through a dark room. There was a man behind her.

"Toby," she said, coming to a strange revolution, "This is all junk. I don't need all of this stuff. I have to find Toby!" She tried to stand but was burdened by the dolls, games and toys engulfing her.

"This is not junk," the junk-lady hissed, "Look at this here. This is anything but junk!" She picked up a music box with a girl in a ball gown on top. It was playing that song. That song that Jareth had sung.

She blushed slightly as she recalled her dance with the goblin king. He had been so nice. He made the faces disappear, and the way he held her close to him…She shook her head, not wanting to let her thoughts wander too far. "Yes it is junk!" she shouted, throwing the music box at the mirror, "This is all crap! I have to save Toby!" She threw everything away for her and ran for the door. She burst through and ran a short distance.

"Jaclyn!" a loud, gruff voice sounded, "Jaclyn!"

"Lady Jaclyn, where is thou?" That was Sir Didymus and the first was Ludo.

"I'm here," she called loudly. She saw them approach her over a large pile of trash. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you. What time is it? Do you know?" She was scared that she had already run out of time to find the castle.

"No, Milady," Didymus said, "but the gates to the Goblin City doth lie yonder."

"Jaclyn," cried a very relieved Ludo, who engulfed Jaclyn in a big hug, "Jaclyn friend."

"It's good to see you too, Ludo," she said hugging him back, "but we have to hurry. Wait, where's Hoggle?"

"After Sir Hoggle gave Milady the peach, he hath been gone," Didymus said, "but we must make haste. The city lies not far, but I fear a great battle is yet to be set forth."

"Okay let's go, then," Jaclyn said, "Just you wait Jareth." She again thought of the ballroom. She had held him, she wouldn't let him leave. She must have sounded so stupid. Embarrassing as it was, Jaclyn wasn't sure if that was why she had been blushing. She heard his voice in her head again and hummed along to the song silently. She felt this strange sense of warmth as she pictured the way he smiled then. Not his fake, sarcastic, usual smile. A real, warm, loving…love? Was it love that made her feel this way? No!

"Behold the gates of the Goblin City, Milady," Sir Didymus said loudly, interrupting her thoughts.


	12. Thoughts of Him

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: Again! I lied! DIE YOU LYINGNESS! It's becoming a habit, some one review with a smack for me…Hoggle will be in this one, of course.

* * *

"Open!" Didymus shouted at the door to the city as though it would respond, "Open the door!" He growled and barked like a dog. This was not good. The last thing Jaclyn wanted was the entire Goblin City on her tail.

"Sir Didymus!" she hissed, "Quiet down! You'll wake the guard!" She motioned to a sleeping goblin that wore rusted armor. "Please!"

Didymus kept on as he was. "Let them all wake!" he shouted, "I'll fight them all here and now! Open the door!" He slammed his staff into the wooden gate.

"Please, for my sake, be quiet!" Jaclyn grabbed him a little roughly, but she needed her point across, "You are a brave knight, but there are moments when bravery is foolishness, so please stop this!"

Didymus was silenced at last for quiet a long moment. "Yes, Milady," he said finally, "For you, anything. Let us go quietly." He mounted Ambrosious as Ludo pushed the gate open. The guard didn't even stir at all.

As they stepped through the old wooden doors, they found themselves at yet another doorway. Upon its surface was the emblem of fire and slowly it began to glow blue.

"What's that?" Jaclyn asked as the glow intensified.

Ludo approached in curiosity and touched the blue emblem. A beat passed and nothing happened. Then suddenly Ludo cried out and pulled his big hand away in pain. "Hot!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Ludo!" Jaclyn said, grabbing hold of the beast's arm. "Are you okay?" She looked at his hand and saw a burn mark. "It must be some kind of defense," she stated, "We can't touch the door."

The emblem glowed even brighter and soon a small yellow flame began to dance on the wood. The flame grew and grew and as it grew it got hotter and changed colors. From yellow, to red, to green, and finally blue, the hottest. The flames surrounded them.

"Oh no!" Jaclyn exclaimed putting her arms up to protect herself from the intense heat. "What do we do!" She couldn't open her eyes without having the brightness hurt them.

"I'm coming, Jaclyn!" the voice was all too familiar. Jaclyn fell backwards just as the flames began to mysteriously subside.

Jaclyn took a short, quick breath of cool air and relaxed slightly. She peeked out from behind her arms that were still raised defensively. She then saw her rescuer. "Hoggle!" she said happily. She crushed the cat in a tight hug.

"Ow!" he said quietly at first, "…ow!" He repeated himself loudly and struggled to free himself of the hug.

"I knew you would come back!" she released him, "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy to see you!"

"You are?" he asked meekly, "You aren't angry for my giving you that peach?"

"Of course not!" she said, "Jareth told you to. You were following orders, it's a rule of the game." She was suddenly reminded that Jareth had rules to follow as well. It wasn't entirely his fault that she was there. She pushed any other thoughts away and made her top priority getting her brother back. "Let's go!"

Ludo cautiously touched the door to find it sopping wet. He pushed it open and it swung on rusted hinges. "Screech!" it wailed loudly.

* * *

Jareth bounced Toby on his knee and listened to the child's laughter. "Such a lively chap, it would be a shame to let him go," he muttered. Then again, he didn't want this game to go on. He really wanted Jaclyn to go home happy, not loathing of him. "Not like the ones before her." He had never really loved any one like he loved her, so it would be quite a painful blow if she hated him.

"Your Majesty!" came an urgent beckoning, "The girl and the cat and the squirrel—!"

"What is it?" Jareth snapped. Oh, how he disliked it when they interrupted his thoughts.

"That girl who ate the fruit," the guard had just barely entered the room at this point, "The one who forgot everything! She's in the city! She's at the gate!"

"What?" now this changes everything. "Stop her! Do what you can to stop her. Don't make it easy for her. Take the child and hide him!"

He handed Toby down to a sentry from his throne. This was not what was supposed to happen! Then again, the rules do not prevent some one from actually winning his game. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all…or maybe it was…

He ran to his window and looked out. He could see his army exit the castle below and track four small figures in the city. He could pinpoint Jaclyn easily. This was not what he planned, not at all. He knew, though, she would soon be in his castle. He had to make the proper preparations. He made his way to his Esher Room.

* * *

It was chaos, hectic, positively insane. Everywhere she looked there was another goblin with a large gun, spear, or cannon. This was not good. For some reason her first thought was 'Where is Jareth?' but then she remembered that he was the antagonist in this story. She yelled for her group to follow her as she ducked behind a building.

"This is bad," she said, "Hold on!" She peeked out to see if anyone was there. Again her mind went to Jareth. She could not get over the fact that she had danced with him. She had been so close to him. And she didn't even know that it was…HIM…The goblin king. She could feel his touch, his arm around her waist. This wasn't the time for that now! "Let's go!" she said, the coast was clear.

She ran down the street with her friends in front of her. She tried to keep her mind on her brother, but the same thought kept creeping it's way into her head. Jareth was in that castle.


	13. Jaclyn Wins

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: I'm kind of excited! Thus the outburst of updates on this fic…Cool, huh?

* * *

It seemed to echo throughout the entire castle when the door opened. He knew she was in his home even as far away as the Esher Room. He watched as the baby crawled around the stairs getting endlessly lost. It was something to see because the little child didn't make a noise. Jareth was sure that this was because the Esher Room demands complete relaxation to those who enter it. That is why he always went there for meditation and things related to that.

He couldn't keep his mind off of her. He truly loved her, no matter how overused that word may be. Give it any other word that is there to describe it and it will still be love. Is there really any other way to describe love than to call it as it is, which is love?

There were the foot-steps, light, small foot-steps, that echoed in the halls. His halls. The goblin king was still himself no matter what the situation. He did not fear a little girl…much.

"Toby!" she called. Not for him? Just for the child who was aimlessly wandering his stairs. She sounded so tense. _How is that possible in my Esher Room?_ he thought. "Toby!" She was very desperate for the child. Should Jareth show himself? "Toby! …Jareth?"

At this Jareth stepped from the darkness on a platform directly beneath her. "You called?" he asked staring down…er…up at her. "Whatever is the matter, my dear?"

She was startled as she looked up…damn, down at him. "Jareth!" she jumped back slightly, "How are—"

"I am," he interrupted her, "don't start with reasoning." He stepped down and fell past her.

She let out a cry of concern, but when she looked up he wasn't there. "Jareth," she called into the echo of the chamber, "where is my brother? I solved your labyrinth, now where is Toby?"

"Are you so quick to claim your reward?" Jareth whispered in her ear. He was again behind her, but this time she didn't jump. "He's in this room. There!" He pointed to a spot of red that quickly passed out of view.

Jaclyn turned around to look at him. "I can't reach him when I don't know what's up or down. Help me."

Jareth was tempted to do just that. He would have gladly reunited the two at this point, being that she had won. "I would," he said, "but the rules are set in stone. You must retrieve the child yourself, or you didn't win at all."

"But…" Jaclyn began, "That's not…" she stopped herself before she said "that's not fair" and butchered the entire point of this story. She looked out at the red that was quickly moving now on the ceiling. She found herself running for it, running for her brother.

Jareth stared at her, humming under his breath. He watched as she chased after the lively boy in the vain attempt at catching him. She was obviously getting frustrated because she made a mistake and broke a rule. She jumped from a ledge and therefore took a short cut. That's cheating.

Everything disintegrated around her as she fell, her fall lasting a lot longer than she thought it would. The stairs broke apart and started to resembling an unsolved puzzle. She finally felt her feet make contact with the ground, so she turned to looked for some one, anyone at all.

Jareth was there, in the shadows, and she saw him. "This is the last part of my game," he said. He came forward towards her.

Jaclyn spun around when he spoke and blinked. His attire was different. He was wearing what looked like a formal outfit. That is, medieval formal, but all the same…It was black, as if he were attending a funeral. "Give me the child," she began, just the way the line in the book began.

"Jaclyn, beware," Jareth warned, "I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."

"Generous?" she repeated. In her desperate need to find her brother she could not think of any time that he had been generous. "How have you been generous?"

"Think," he said, "You asked that Toby be taken, I took him. You chose to run my labyrinth and I let you. Whenever you wished I came to you! I have reordered time. I've turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you!" He could see that she understood him. He could see by the look on her face that she knew this all to be true.

She needed to find Toby. That was her main priority. "Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen."

He knew this line all to well. "Please," he pleaded, "Jaclyn, I love you. I will do anything for you if you would just return my love."

She heard this and almost gave in to his pleading. She thought of how easy it would be to just give in. To be his. But what about Toby? "For my will is as strong as yours," she continued, "and my kingdom is as great…damn!" She forgot the last part again. And the thing is that that was the easiest part.

"Look what I can give you!" he said, holding up his hand as a crystal materialized there, "I offer you your dreams. Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave!"

"My kingdom is as great…" she couldn't remember, and she felt the tears come to her eyes. Half of which were for Toby, and wishing she could save him. The other half were for Jareth. He looked pained as he offered his last plea. He would give her the power over he dreams. Wait…That was it! "You have no power over me…"

Jareth looked crushed as he backed away nearer and nearer to the edge of the platform they stood on together. He tossed the crystal in the air, and Jaclyn couldn't help but watch it giving it her complete attention. When it came down she tried to catch it, but it popped like a bubble in her hand. She saw Jareth fall backwards.

"Jareth!" she cried reaching out to grab him. She missed by a centimeter and he fell. He was then gone and she squeezed her eyes shut tight to keep back the tears. "That's the second time you've left me, you jerk," she muttered.


	14. The End 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: This could be my last update in this fanfiction, or it could not…you're choice!

* * *

Jaclyn opened her eyes suddenly and jumped up as an owl flew in the window, circled her head and then out the window again. It didn't stop flying straight until it disappeared into the dark night. "Does that mean Jareth will no longer watch me the way he used to?" Jaclyn asked herself, she gasped she realized that she was no longer in the Underground. "Jareth! He fell! Toby!" She ran upstairs to see if her brother was okay.

She flipped on the light switch—which thankfully worked—and ran to her brother's crib. He was there, asleep, and safe. She ran her fingers across his face lightly so that he wouldn't wake. "What could I do to make it up to you?" she asked the sleeping boy. Suddenly she thought of something.

She ran to her room across the hall and returned quickly with her favorite teddy bear. "You can have Lancelot, Toby," she said quietly, laying the bear beside him, "He is your favorite too, right?"

Toby stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. He simply rubbed his face in an unconscious motion and went back to stillness. Jaclyn didn't want to wake him up, so she went out and turned off the light.

Sitting at her vanity mirror, she took pictures of her real mother off and placed them in her drawer. It was time for her to move on. Karen could be a good mother for her, if Jaclyn would let her. That didn't mean that Jaclyn didn't still love her mother, but times sometimes call for change. She took her little red book from the desk and flipped through the pages once more. She sighed and put the book in the drawer as well.

"Jaclyn!" she heard her father called, "We're home! Are you here?"

"Yes I'm up here!" she called back. She took her music box and put it in the drawer as well. Staring down at the figure of the girl in the ball gown, she remembered that dance. Again she could feel his touch as if he were there. She picked the music box up and put it back on her desk. Some things need to stay the way they are.

"Good byes, Jaclyn," Ludo said, causing Jaclyn to look up and see him in her mirror.

"Ludo!" She said and turned. No one was there. She turned back to her mirror and saw Didymus on her bed.

"Remember this, milady," he said in his proper way, "Should you ever need us." He faded and Hoggle took his place.

"Yeah, Should you need us for anything at all," he said, "Just call." He began to fade as well.

"Wait, Hoggle!" she cried, "I need you! All of you! For no reason at all!"

"You do?" said he. Then his voice sounded more real, "Why didn't you say so?"

Jaclyn turned to see all of her friends there in her room. Even some of the goblin guards were there. She was so happy that she ran to Ludo and hugged him tightly. "Let's party," she said turning on her radio.

* * *

Jareth watched from outside. He was there himself, in the Aboveground world. It started to rain, but he didn't move. He stood below her window watching the warm reunion take place. He wasn't invited so her watched from outside. Watching how happy Jaclyn looked, she had so many friends. Did she think of him at all? Did she wonder how he was? He was getting wet, but it wasn't his formal uniform of any of his clothes that he wore in the Underground.

Strangely, the Goblin King chose to wear jeans and a T-shirt that he had copied from a passerby. His hair was short today, a shame because he really liked it when his hair was long. He just didn't want to stand out too much. It would grow back as soon as he went back to the Underground.

He leaned against a tree as he looked up into her window, his mind racing with questions about her thoughts. He was so into his own mind that he did not notice, at first, when she looked at him. A few seconds passed before he saw that her eyes met his. As soon as he realized this she had left her room, and the festivities, and ran down the hall.

He couldn't see her any longer, so he couldn't tell where she was going, but something told him that she was coming to see him. He was proven correct when the back door opened and she approached him. No umbrella to protect her from the rain, just her getting as wet as he was.

"Jareth?" she questioned, to make sure that this very different man was who she thought it was. "Is that you?"

"Yes," he said, "This is me when I don't want to stand out in this world." He looked back into the room where things had calmed down slightly. "Are you happy?"

She didn't really know how to answer that at first. "Well, yes," she said at length, "and at the same time no." She took a few steps closer to him. "Why are you out here in the rain?"

"You seem to be having a nice time with your friends in there," he commented, "I didn't want to be rude."

"Rude?" she asked, "That's one of the last things you could've done to be rude. I mean what was rude was leaving me without finishing the song in that ballroom. That was rude!" She was raising her voice, but only slightly so.

"No, I was taking advantage of your state of amnesia," he said, "that was rude."

"But I'm glad you did," she said, "I got to dance with you. I got to hear your voice. You sang for me, and just for me. Before then I had two left feet, but with you…You left me that second time. That was rude."

"You won the game," he said, "To stay would have been superfluous."

"Then what are you doing here…now?"

"Jaclyn, I still love you. You probably don't love me for all I have put you through, but—"

"That was rules!" Jaclyn interrupted, "I understand that you followed the rules. Everyone who plays the game has to abide by them. I understand that. Don't say that I don't love you."

For the second time since he took her brother he had been stunned speechless. He tried to say something, but he couldn't think of what to say. He didn't guess that she felt that way. "I…" he sighed.

"I didn't want to reject you," she said, "but I wasn't sure. I thought that if I stayed with you then Toby wouldn't be able to come home." She wrapped her arms around his waist the way she had in the ballroom when she thought that he would be gone if she let go.

He stood still for a few seconds. "You've learned a lot," he commented, "You've learned to be self-sacrificing and grateful." He put his hands on her shoulders as if to push her away.

"Don't you dare leave me again," she said. She buried her face into his shirt.

He smiled and pulled her from him, holding her at arm's length. "Madame," he said, "may I dance with you?"

Jaclyn was confused for a split second. Then she smiled and nodded. She could hear the music in her head again as he began to sing again:

There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes. A kind of pale jewel, open and closed, within your eyes. I'll place the sky, within your eyes

_There's such a fooled heart, beating so fast, in search of new dreams. A love that will last, within your heart. I'll place the moon, within your heart._

_As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you. Every thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all. But I'll bee there for you, as the world falls down._

_I'll paint you mornings of gold. I'll spin you Valentine evenings. Though we're strangers 'till now, we're choosing our paths, between the stars. I'll lay y love, between the stars._

_As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you. Every thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all. But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down._

They paused, no longer moving because the song had ended. The rain had softened lightly around them, but they didn't feel it. She looked into his eyes again and was lost. He knew this, he stared down at her and knew that she was somewhere else. Perhaps the sun was out in her mind and they hadn't been dancing at midnight in the rain.

"Jaclyn," he whispered, to bring her back to reality, "Jaclyn."

She blinked and felt the rain once more on her head. She shivered beneath her wet shirt and moved close to him. He was so very warm.

"Jaclyn," he said again. She looked up and he seized this moment to take her in a kiss. She didn't object, but she did return it more passionately.

* * *

No one in her room wondered where she had gone. No one went to bring her back. No one took more than one glance out the window. Everyone did understand and helped to clean up her room. Sir Didymus left a note that said for her to stay in touch, so to speak. They all left her after signing a good bye on his note. The room was left as if they had never been there.

Down in the backyard the two had moved under the tree to where the rain was less. Jareth had draped his own shirt across her shoulder in an attempt to keep her warm. He could stay warm a lot easier than a human girl could. She had fallen asleep a few minutes before.

He held a crystal in his hand, but he hesitated in his plan to return her to her room. She seemed so comfortable there he didn't want to move her. She wasn't shivering any more, and the rain was slowing a great deal. In a sudden puff of glitter they were both gone and then in her room. She was on her bed and he was standing in her doorway. He turned to leave.

"Jareth," she said quietly, "don't you dare leave me again." He looked at her again and saw that she was still asleep. "Jareth," she repeated.

He went to her bedside and kneeled down. He smoothed out her hair and hummed softly to sooth her. She seemed to be having a nightmare. Much to his surprise, she reached up and grabbed his hand, but she was still asleep.

"Don't you dare," she said again, so quietly that it was almost inaudible.

Jareth didn't really know what to do. He couldn't stay there. If her parents saw him, or anyone for that matter, there might be trouble. It would just look awkward, like he was some creep who sneaked into her room over night. He pulled his hand away from hers and turned around, leaning against the bed.

"I'm not going to leave you," he said quietly. It apparently took it's affect for she stopped muttering. He smiled and lay there for a while. Time got away from him and he actually fell asleep.


	15. Part two: Of Cheerleaders and Villains

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: This is going to be fun! I've got a good plot for my "what happens next" part of the fanfiction. This came partly from a roleplay I did with Crystal.

* * *

PART TWO: Of Cheerleaders and Villains

It had been a while since Jareth had been to the Aboveground. He had lately been investigating the disappearance of certain important features of his labyrinth. The lichen with eyes was a signature sight. How could it be gone? He had his suspicions, but he let them rest at first. Now, though, this was the last straw.

"Jareth, your place is, like, so drab!" said the creepy little girl in the mini-skirt and tank top. She was really pushing her luck here with all of the flowers she was making spring from the walls. "Why not clean up, like, once in a while? It's, like, scary!"

"That's the point!" he said, "Stereotypically the bad guy—me—is supposed to seem frightening to others—my victims, as I call them. This isn't a place for an afternoon stroll! How the hell did you get in here any way?"

"The grumpy little dwarf at the entrance let me in," she said, "He was so, like, cute when I was done with him."

For once, Jareth pitied little Hogbrain—Higgle—whatever. "Whatever you did to him was probably worse than a dip in the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"Oh, that ugly place?" the cheerleader inquired, "I've, like, already been there. You should, like, see how nice it is!"

"What?" he exploded. He grabbed her wrist and they teleported to the bog. "My lord," was all he could say when he saw the impossible. The place was literally sweet smelling and clean. It was also horrifyingly pink.

"Isn't it, like, pretty?" She asked jumping up and down excitedly.

One more thing and Jareth was going to go insane. This was just ridiculous; he was at his wit's end. "Why…?" he began. He cut off and out of his mouth flowed a long stream of curses and insults towards the girl.

"Now that's not very nice," she said, "Anyway, you shouldn't, like, insult me. I mean, like, look at you. You need, like, a haircut ten years ago and your outfit. If the tights are for attention, like, get a life."

He examined himself the best he could. "What's wrong with my attire?" he inquired, "It's what I've felt comfortable wearing my entire life." He suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"Like, how long has that been?" she asked, "Three thousand years?" If he heard her use "like" one more time in her dialogue he would snap. "That's better," she said at length after staring at him.

"What?" he asked. He reached up and touched his hair, but even through the glove he could tell that it was no longer there. He changed a crystal into a small reflective glass and saw himself. His hair was now at most one inch in length. "You bitch!" he yelled, "How dare you!"

He launched another crystal at her and it changed into a snake just before impact. Not a good idea. The snake turned into a flower just before she caught it. "For me?" she said, "Oh, Jarry, that's so sweet!"

He stared in amazement for a few long moments before suddenly cursing and disappearing in a puff of glitter. He had to get away from this girl. He had to stop her, but nothing he could think of seemed to work. He thought he'd turn to some one he knew would be able to help him. Some one who thought like a girl.


	16. It's a baby

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, or Jareth. Jim Henson & Co. do.

Rating: PG-13 (For use of improper language)

Author's note: Wow! It's been a while….School started and I could barely get some of my ideas out there before it was too late. Thank God for Thanksgiving Vacation!!! Do you know what I realized? I change John back to Toby…It's John again.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding," Jaclyn said, "A cheerleader?" She sipped her hot tea. "Anyway, you've cut your hair before, haven't you?"

"Yes, yes," Jareth said, "but then I was Aboveground and an immortal in a mortal realm is as good as mortal. If I stayed here too long I'd age just like you do. As soon as I return Underground I'm the way I should be. Being that I changed in my very kingdom, it won't grow back anytime soon."

Jaclyn smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry then," she said, "if it's any consolation, I think it looks better than before."

"Thank you, but you're not helping," he said. "It's not just my hair, though that is painful to part with, it's my kingdom, my castle…my labyrinth. The Bog of Eternal stench is…pink! Tell me you don't find that odd."

"More than odd, I don't believe it," she put her tea down and rested her head on her palm. That was a bit too much to try to imagine. "That has got to take some serious magic."

"Which is exactly my problem," he said, "I'm not able to stop her, it's a different type of magic. That's why I called on you. See humans hold more power then they are willing to believe. And a woman is usually the strongest."

Jaclyn stared at him and thought about this. "I suppose I'll need to take John," she said, "He misses you, you know." She sighed and stood. "What do I need to do?"

* * *

"You've done wonderfully, sister," Aerok's snake-like voice pierced the throne room's tense air like a knife through butter. He sat in Jareth's throne, one of his long, gangly legs was propped up. Nicole could barely see his lean form in the darkness of nighttime, but his face and hands were too white to miss, and his red eyes cut through her almost painfully. She bowed slightly.

"He's gone to _her_ I'm sure of it," she said, "what am I to do next, brother?" Please take note of a total lack of the word 'like' in her vocabulary. She stood gazing at him from across the room with eyes that held all the emotion of a dead body.

He ran a hand through his white hair. "Wait," he said, "He'll come back. When he does he'll be with her. You remember what to do with her?"

"Yes," Nicole said, "I remember, brother." She bowed and stepped back, as custom for formality. When she rose form her bow she was at the entrance to the labyrinth. She sat cross-legged with her head bowed as if meditating.

Jaclyn stumbled upon her as she was looking for Hoggle. "Is this her?" she asked Jareth.

Jareth nodded and poked her forehead lightly. "She's a lot more stoic," he said, "Is she asleep?"

Suddenly a shriek of surprise emitted from the girl in the mini-skirt and two arms linked themselves around Jareth's neck. "Oh, Jarry!" she cried, "I, like, missed you so much!" Jareth tried to pry her off. "Oh, like, come one. Don't be like that!" she looked at Jaclyn, "Like, introduce me to your friend."

Jaclyn was holding back an eruption of laughter comparing to the force of a volcano. She cleared her throat and shook her head at the sight of Jareth wrestling with a teenage cheerleader. "I'm Jaclyn," she said, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

Nicole abandoned her hold on Jareth and stuck out a hand. "I'm Niccy," she said, "My brother, like, welcomes you to what will soon, like, be his." She looked at John, who sat in Jaclyn's arms. "What's this?" she asked.

"That's a baby," Jareth said obviously, "and who the hell is your brother?"

Nicole touched the baby's arm and John tried to bite her. "Bad," he said along with a few unintelligible words that came natural to the child's vocabulary. Nicole didn't withdraw her hand, and John hit at her. Then, suddenly, the two were gone. John was no longer in Jaclyn's arms and Nicole was an area of empty air.

"John?" Jaclyn blinked a few times in confusion. It took a few seconds for her to realize that he was no longer there. "John!" She took a few steps and looked around. A sudden lack of comfort hit her like a subway train. She felt her heart skip a beat as she began to feel more and more at a loss. "John!"

Jareth had to hold on to her while she started to run and search for her brother. The minute he touched her, they were gone.


End file.
